Maplewood-based 3M Company announced Thursday that it plans to acquire Arizant, Inc.-an Eden Prairie-based manufacturer-for $810 million.

The cash transaction, which is expected to close in the fourth quarter pending customary closing conditions, will expand 3M's infection prevention business. The company said that the acquisition will likely dilute its earnings by about 3 cents during the next year.

Arizant manufactures products designed to warm patients in surgical settings in order to prevent hypothermia.

“Patient warming is a highly strategic adjacency for our business and integral to infection prevention,” Debra Rectenwald, president and general manager of 3M's infection prevention division, said in a statement. “In addition to Arizant's market-leading products, its rich intellectual property portfolio and solid technology platforms expand 3M's infection prevention offerings and will help to drive growth internationally, as well as provide a platform of innovative wound care technologies.”

According to 3M, the patient-warming market is worth about $1 billion, and the industry is growing at approximately 10 percent annually.

Arizant's products help maintain the proper body temperature of more than 20 million surgical patients each year, and the company's 2010 sales are projected to reach $200 million. Arizant employs 375 people in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, Spain, Austria, Belgium, and Japan. The company is majority-owned by Court Square Capital, a private equity firm based in New York.

Minneapolis-based Piper Jaffray Companies served as Arizant's financial advisor for the transaction.

The Arizant acquisition marks the next chapter in a series of recent purchases by the company. The company announced last week plans to buy Cogent, Inc., a Pasadena, California-based biometric identification solutions provider. That deal is valued at $943 million.

The company also said last week that it will pay $230 million to buy Attenti Holdings, S.A., a Tel Aviv, Israel-based people-monitoring technology company.

3M's infection prevention business produces a series of solutions for the health care industry, including sterilization, monitoring, hand hygiene, surgical drapes, and more.

3M is among Minnesota's 10-largest public companies based on its 2008 revenue of $25.3 billion. The company reported revenue of $23.1 billion in 2009.